In our previous blog entry we introduced you to our new Property Manager for Burlington Station Luxury Residences Cara Pagels, and IT Assistant Amy Church. In continuing the Getting to Know Them series, our Director of Marketing Amanda Watson recently reached out to the interns who are assisting in our Development departments this summer: Robert Rumer, Bill Robinson and Garrett Camaren. Read more about them below!

Where do you come to Holladay from? How long will you be serving as an intern?

ROBERT: I just finished my first year of business school at Notre Dame, where I’m getting my MBA. Before returning to school I worked for five years on a trading desk at SEI Investments outside of Philadelphia. I got my bachelor’s degree from Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, PA, and hadn’t lived outside of Pennsylvania before moving to South Bend, IN. I’ll be serving as an intern from mid-May until returning to school in August.

BILL: I’m a current MBA student at Vanderbilt. Prior to moving to Nashville, I was a civil engineer in Dallas. I’ll be with Holladay until returning to school in August.

GARRETT: I came to Holladay Properties from the Mendoza College of Business MBA Program at Notre Dame. Prior to Mendoza I worked in finance at Northern Trust and social work at Barton Healthcare.

What are/will be your primary duties at Holladay?

ROBERT: As an intern I’ll be working on a number of projects this summer, mostly with the development and asset management teams, although I’ve been told it should be an evolving role as the summer progresses.

BILL: I’m working with the Development team assisting with acquisitions, redevelopment, leasing, and active/potential development projects.

GARRETT: My primary duties at Holladay will be providing assistance for the Downers Grove Burlington Station project and the Promenade at Founder’s Square project.

What is your title?

ROBERT: My official title is “Commercial Real Estate Development MBA Intern.”

BILL: Development Intern.

GARRETT: My title is “Development Analyst.”

Why did you decide to join the Holladay team?

ROBERT: I decided to join the team because I wanted to work in commercial real estate, and Holladay provided a great opportunity for hands-on experience. When I came for my interview everyone was really welcoming and they were excited about potential projects for the summer; they made it feel like a good fit for me.

BILL: I was impressed by the scope of work Holladay was doing as well as the opportunity to experience a wide variety of projects and tasks. I also appreciated the team and the atmosphere of the office.

GARRETT: I decided to join the Holladay team because I had an excellent interview experience with both Drew Mitchell and Maureen Johnson.

What are you most excited/nervous about for your time with Holladay?

ROBERT: As someone without a real estate background, I’m excited to get to know everyone and learn from their experience in commercial real estate. In my short time here I’ve already learned that there’s so many differences between investing in real estate versus public markets, and I’m excited about working on some of the projects this summer to learn the trade.

BILL: I’m most excited about seeing all that goes into a successful project and taking another step toward realizing my dream of working in commercial real estate!

GARRETT: Everyone I have worked with has been very warm and encouraging. This is such an amazing opportunity and I am most excited about being able to work with such a welcoming community.

BY: CASSANDRA SPRIGG
SOCIAL MEDIA COORDINATOR – SOUTH BEND, IN

Have you met our Portage Property Manager, Toby Ernsberger?

Toby started with Holladay Properties in 2012, when his father-in-law introduced him to Director of Facilities, Eric Lindamood. With his previous experience in working with plumbing, electricity and construction, as well as landscape design, Eric hired Toby to be one of our South Bend maintenance technicians. In 2016, Toby, searching for an opportunity for career advancement, applied for Holladay’s open Property Manager position. His familiarity with the portfolio made him a natural fit for the job.

As a Commercial Property Manager, Toby is responsible for managing a portfolio consisting of over 1 million square feet of real estate, including commercial office, medical, and industrial space. He has been largely responsible for expanding our presence in 3rd party management throughout Northwest Indiana, and has recently, with the help of Assistant Property Manager, Amanda Macias, secured contracts for Landscaping and Snow Removal. He has future plans to earn his Certified Property Manager accreditation through the Institute of Real Estate Management.

When not at Holladay, Toby owns Ernsberger Cleaning, a janitorial business, and runs a farm that produces eggs and maple syrup. He and his wife, Danielle, have four children, whom he coaches in basketball, baseball and football. With all of these things on his plate, Toby has become an expert at time management. Keep up the great work, Toby!

By: Amanda Watson
Director of Marketing – Portage, IN

Drew Mitchell, VP – Development (LaGrange, Ill.) and Jessica Vargas, Project Architect (Portage, Ind.) are board members of Junior Achievement of Chicago – Northwest Indiana Division, a nonprofit organization that provides unique learning experiences for students throughout Northwest Indiana. The Board recently announced its upcoming fundraising event, the second annual JA Prom Night.

On February 23, the Avalon Manner in Merrillville, Ind. will be transformed into a Winter Wonderland. All proceeds from the event will help fund JA’s programs, which are designed to strengthen students’ awareness of the critical pillars: Financial Literacy, Work Readiness, and Entrepreneurship.

JA programs start in kindergarten and go through high school, empowering the next
generation to own their economic success through every stage of life. Last school
year, JA of Chicago was in over 2,000 classrooms in Lake and Porter Counties and reached over 49,000 students.

Those wanting to support JA’s Northwest Indiana Division are encouraged to attend or sponsor this signature event. The event boasts a silent auction, prom court, and local basketball legend Pete Trgovich as the emcee. Register for the event…

As a person who works for a company in real estate development, I can’t tell you how excited I get by great big piles of dirt. Why, you may ask? Because I know what that big pile of dirt means. It means work! It means development! It means something new is coming!

Soil pile at the Dairy Queen site in Portage, IN

I have to say that seeing a pile of dirt, along with accompanying earth-moving equipment, brings a smile to my face…especially when it’s on a Holladay Properties site. I love seeing an empty piece of land transform into a beautiful, finished building; and step one of that process, is great big piles of dirt!

Soil piles at the Affordable Suites site in Portage, IN

So this morning as I came into work, I saw four separate sites in our AmeriPlex at the Port development with great big piles of dirt on them and I got excited; which got me thinking about other great things about dirt. So I did so research and this is what I discovered…

Prairie School Drive extension in Portage

It’s not dirt, it’s SOIL. Okay, so technically that top layer of earth that covers most of our planet is referred to as soil and is made up of more than just dirt. (Spilsbury, 2011)

Soil is used for EVERYTHING! From growing food, to storing and filtering water, to making bricks and for building foundations, to decomposing garbage, soil is seriously important to life everywhere. (Spilsbury, 2011)

Soil contains pieces of rock that has weathered or eroded over hundreds of years, pieces of waste left behind by living things like decaying leaves, and water and air collecting in the spaces between the rock grains. (Lawrence, 2013)

Lots of animals make their homes underground including worms, beetles, rabbits and prairie dogs. These animals help loosen and mix up the soil, which helps spread minerals around, adding nutrients, improving soil quality and helping the plants that we need to live survive and thrive. (Spilsbury, 2011)

There are lots of different types of soil that are categorized by color, texture and where they’re located on the planet, specifically climate zone. (Spilsbury, 2011)

For centuries, people have eaten clay as a remedy for stomach pain and it’s still used today in Kaopectate and other medicines. Certain types of clay have also been used to counteract the effects of poison. (Root-Bernstein, 1997)

There are four main soil textures, which are based on the size of the rock particles they contain: gravel, sand, silt and clay. (Root-Bernstein, 1997)

Clay has the smallest soil size and holds the most water. The Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy is leaning because it is built on clay. (Spilsbury, 2011)

There are four main layers of soil: topsoil, the top layer which contains most of the organic material; subsoil, the layer beneath the topsoil where minerals are concentrated; weathering horizon, the layer where bedrock starts to break down; and bedrock, the solid rock that forms the base of the soil. (Spilsbury, 2011)

Some particles in soil are actually stardust from the hundreds of stars that have fallen to Earth over the centuries. (Coulter)

The Taco Bell site in Portage

So the next time you see a great big pile of dirt…or, excuse me, SOIL, remember to think of it as more than just a mess. It’s so much more than a pile of brown stuff; it’s the foundation of everything!

As many of you know, Holladay Properties has developed over 20 million square feet of commercial space in the Midwest. We also have 10 active partners who’ve led much of that development. With so much history and so many projects, we wondered if there were any that stuck out as particular favorites. So, here are a few of the Holladay Properties partners’ favorite projects.

I think my favorite project would really be kind of a collection of projects and that’s the AmeriPlex story; where we were able to do some serious master planning and really shape a piece of land that has a real impact on a community. That master planning as a concept really is exciting to me because it’s long term and you have to think long term: What’s this going to look like 10 years from now? What are my children going to think of this if they’re 2 today when they’re 25? Are they going to be going to school in this project or have a job here or shop here? …That kind of thing was always pretty exciting to me and still is, so I would say it’s not one job that’s my favorite, it’s a type of project.

Architectural details from the various AmeriPlex developments

Monument signs at AmeriPlex at the Port, AmeriPlex at the Crossroad and AmeriPlex-Indianapolis

The Mitchell Building at AmeriPlex-Indianapolis; The McCormick Building at AmeriPlex at the Port; Building A at AmeriPlex at Elm Hill; and the Purdue Buildings at AmeriPlex at the Crossroads

I have a number of favorite projects but the most favorite would be 227 Main Street which was the first rehab/redevelopment project I had ever done. That project gave me great passion for reuse and sustainability. Today, I am very proud of the way it looks and the fact that we have our offices in this building.

Full building photo of 227 South Main Street

Sample of the items that were repurposed from 851 Marietta and used in the redevelopment of 227 Main Street

Well my favorite project, or at least one of them, was the first major lease deal in Indianapolis. That was the O’Hare Building, which was a large spec building, and the tenant there was family-owned Johnson Wax Company. All the parties were working together; we were all focused and reasonable; the tenant asked for, and paid without complaining, various extras; and the whole deal came together like a charm. Today, it seems that almost every significant deal is like a long, slow walk across glass, so that early deal is still a good memory.

AmeriPlex at the Port is Holladay’s 385-acre, multi-use business park in Portage, Indiana. Recently, the Mayor wrote an article about the City of Portage and the benefits it offers to both business and residents. For more information on AmeriPlex at the Port, visit our site.

Article by Mayor James Snyder, originally published April 7, 2013 in the Northwest Indiana Times, www.nwi.com

Portage might easily be described as located at the intersection of commerce and recreation.

Indiana’s international deepwater seaport brings the world to our doorstep, while providing family-wage employment to thousands of Portage and region families. Ameriplex at the Port adds many hundreds of additional jobs for residents as it continues to grow each year.

Businesses continue to locate along U.S. 6, Willowcreek Road and the Central Avenue Business District. Retailers have repeatedly found it necessary to expand not long after opening as their traditional market research has failed to keep up with our on-the-ground demographics.

Concurrently, residents and visitors enjoy many recreational opportunities, including thousands of acres of city and national parks, more than a thousand boat slips, and nationally recognized sporting tournaments.

Portage is a nationally recognized recreation destination. West Beach was cited by Parents Magazine as one of our nation’s greatest family beaches just last year. Portage Lakefront and Riverwalk has been so well received that we are hustling to plan and construct improved access and parking by reusing nearby brownfield property while respecting our ecology.

Location relative to Chicago, Lake Michigan, rail and interstate highways has contributed to our success, but our families, schools, churches and supportive nonprofit sector form the foundation upon which all else is built.

Portage remains a community of and for children. Families choose to live here generation after generation because it’s just a great place to be. Our children — mine, yours, and our neighbors’ — instill confidence in the future.

Growing up in Portage easily leads to continuing education at University Center, employment at companies such as U.S. Steel, Fronius, Graycor and Monosol, and raising a family to carry on the American Dream.

Northwest Indiana communities are fortunate to offer shoulder-to-shoulder opportunities. Portage residents enjoy crossing County Line Road to visit County Line Orchard, biking along the Prairie Duneland Trail to Hobart, Chesterton, or via the Brickyard Trail to Beverly Shores or Michigan City, driving 20 minutes to visit Brauer Art Museum at Valparaiso University, or taking the South Shore Railroad into Chicago for a “night on the town.”